More screen at the push of a button: Samsung’s retractable smartphone display

Too little screen? No problem! With Samsung’s new display concept, which extends horizontally at the touch of a button. This turns your smartphone into a tablet in no time at all.

Whether folding, extending or folding: Samsung presented a number of new display technologies at Display Week 2022 and presented them in a short video. From second 27 you get an interesting view of possible smartphone displays of the future. Here, the South Korean manufacturer shows a horizontally used screen that extends to the left and right at the push of a button: the so-called Flex Slidable. The display automatically enlarges for immersive streaming or gaming. But it’s best to see for yourself:

Adaptive smartphone displays: The next big thing?

If smartphone displays have been getting bigger for a while, the trend could soon go in a different direction. At least Samsung is at the forefront when it comes to developing customizable displays. In addition to the Flex Slidable, the first two-way extendable display that Samsung showed at Display Week, the video also shows screens that only extend in one direction, that can be folded in different places or that open up after use fold up and stow away to save space.

New display technologies also make new usage scenarios conceivable. Devices that fold in specific places could eliminate the need for accessories like tablet stands or external keyboards. It remains to be seen what opportunities will arise from new displays of all sizes and shapes. Also how expensive such technologies will be. Samsung has not yet revealed any concrete plans as to whether the Flex Slidable will come onto the market at some point and what it will cost.